Artificial Grass Pickering Research · RR-2026-PIC-02 · August 2026
Water Use, Restrictions & Savings: Pickering Lawn Irrigation Analysis
Durham Region's 2025/26 water rates, the mandatory odd-even watering rules that apply every summer, and a seasonal savings model for typical Pickering lawns
Summary
This report assembles the Regional Municipality of Durham's published water and sewer rates, most recently amended by By-law 2025-054 effective January 1, 2026, the mandatory odd-even watering rules that apply in Pickering every summer under Water System By-law 89-2003, and published outdoor-use statistics, then models how much water a typical Pickering lawn consumes across a growing season and what eliminating that irrigation is worth. Irrigating a 500 sq ft lawn through a 24-week season uses about 27.9 m³ of treated Lake Ontario water (roughly $106 at Durham's estimated 2026 combined rates); Pickering operates under a standing mandatory odd-even watering bylaw every May through September, unlike most GTA municipalities, with stricter emergency bans possible, as North Durham experienced in summer 2025; the honest cash case is moderate, because about $399 of a typical annual bill is fixed charges no lawn decision can touch.
At a Glance
≈$3.79/m³
combined water + sewer marginal cost, Durham 2026 estimate
27.9 m³
modelled seasonal irrigation for a 500 sq ft lawn (24 weeks)
$106/yr
water + sewer cost of that irrigation at 2026 rates
Odd-even
mandatory bylaw watering rule, May to September every year
Inside the Report
- Pickering's water system and the 2025/26 rate structure
- Outdoor watering rules: a standing odd-even bylaw
- How much water a lawn actually uses
- The savings model for a typical Pickering lawn
- Drought summers and restriction-proofing
Citation
Cite this report
Artificial Grass Pickering Research (2026). Water Use, Restrictions & Savings: Pickering Lawn Irrigation Analysis. AGP Research Series RR-2026-PIC-02, Pickering, Ontario.
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